TORONTO -- The Blue Jays suffered another heartbreaking loss on Tuesday night, but if there was one positive they hope to take away from the game, it's that Jose Bautista might be starting to break out of his slump.

Bautista entered play on Tuesday mired in an 0-for-14 skid at the plate. The hitless streak was extended to 17 before Bautista sent a 2-2 offering from Alex Wilson over the wall in left-center field for a solo home run in the seventh inning of the Blue Jays' 11-7 loss to the Red Sox.

That put an end to the unfortunate streak and also allowed Bautista to become the third player in franchise history to have at least 25 home runs in five consecutive seasons. Carlos Delgado (1996-2004) and Joe Carter (1991-96) were the others.

"Even yesterday, he hit two balls on the money, one to center field," manager John Gibbons. "It's just a matter of time. Everybody goes through those, even your top hitters. But we need him, we need him to heat up."

Despite the recent slump, Bautista has reached base in 113 of his 125 starts this year and 29 of his last 32 games. He is hitting .281 with 25 homers and 78 RBIs.